Chapter 2 - The Emergency Triage
While two officers forced a struggling, shouting Adrian onto the floor to handcuff him, Officer Lucia rushed into the kitchen. She found Mariana leaning against the sink, her body trembling violently, clutching the dry cloth around her blistered hand.
"Mariana, it's over. We're here," Lucia said gently, signaling the paramedics who carried a specialized burn trauma kit. "Let them look at the hand."
The moment the cloth was removed, the paramedic winced. The skin of Mariana’s palm was severely scorched, white and blistered from the intense heat of the cast-iron griddle. They immediately applied a cooling gel and wrapped it in a sterile, non-adherent dressing. The physical pain was excruciating, but as the paramedics lifted her onto a gurney, Mariana looked past them to the floor beneath the granite island.
The tiny blue light was still blinking.
Don Ramiro stood in the living room, trying to make phone calls to his political contacts, his voice frantic. "Yes, this is Ramiro. The state police are at my house... What do you mean you can't intervene? It's a domestic issue!... Wait, don't hang up!" He lowered his phone, looking at his wife in sheer disbelief. "They said the governor's office has already seen the video. They won't touch it."
Beatriz approached Natalia Torres, her voice shaking with rage. "You think you can destroy us with a cheap trick? Mariana is a mentally unstable girl! She fabricated this! She burned herself to frame my son!"
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"Save it for the judge, ma'am," Natalia replied, tapping her tablet to stop the live stream and lock the file. "Because you aren't just facing an assault charge. This stream captured you witnessing a felony and failing to provide aid, while encouraging the abuser. You're coming with us too."
As Mariana was wheeled out into the cool night air, she watched the police lead Adrian out in handcuffs. He was yelling obscenities, his expensive shirt torn, his dignity stripped away in front of the neighbors who had gathered on the sidewalk. Mariana closed her eyes, letting out a breath she felt she had been holding for two long years.
